"Me, too," said Fidge, emphatically.

"And I should love to float about in the air, I'm sure!" declared Marjorie.

The words were scarcely out of her mouth when she felt herself wafted gently off her feet, while at the same moment d.i.c.k, to Fidge's intense surprise, suddenly shot up to the height of over six feet, and looked so very ridiculous, that all three of them burst out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

CHAPTER III.

THE SAGE IN THE ONION FIELD.

"How absurd," laughed d.i.c.k, as he looked down from the--to him--enormous height of six feet. "What a thin, lanky-looking creature, I am, to be sure--and Fidge, too; he looks perfectly ridiculous"--for Fidge, also, was growing amazingly.

"How did it happen, d.i.c.k, dear?" asked Marjorie, in an awe-stricken voice. "It seems so funny to be up here in the air, and yet I don't feel in the least frightened, do you?"

"Of course not," said d.i.c.k, contemptuously. "Why, we just said we wished to be as tall as the Pater, you know, and it happened."

"Oh, yes; and I said I should like to float in the air. I suppose we can always do what we want to now--how lovely! Like the 'Arabian Nights,'

isn't it?"

"I don't want to be thin, like a walking-stick," said Fidge, in a dissatisfied voice.

"No, it's rather horrid," said d.i.c.k. "Let's see; we said as tall as the Pater, didn't we?--not as _big_. I wonder if that makes any difference."

"I want to be as fat as old Mrs. Mofflet," said Fidge, mischievously.

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than he dwindled down to his usual height, and spread out in girth till he exactly resembled, in appearance, what one looks like in a concave mirror--that is, he was about twice as wide as he was high.

"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! That's worse than ever!" laughed the children, while little Fidge waddled about in an absurd way.

The gnomes were highly amused, and cut the most extraordinary antics in their glee.

"I think perhaps the best thing to do for the present would be to wish ourselves as we were," said d.i.c.k. "I have no doubt it wi be very useful by and by to be any size we like, but just now it's rather awkward."

"Oh, let's be little, like the gnomes," cried Marjorie. "It will be such fun."

"All right," acquiesced d.i.c.k; "here goes--I wish I were as little as the gnomes."

"So do I," cried Marjorie.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "He was about twice as wide as he was high."]

"Me, too!" cried Fidge.

To their great surprise, nothing happened. They waited a moment or two, staring at each other expectantly, and then Marjorie cried in a troubled voice--

"Oh, dear! I don't believe it's going to work, and we shall have to stay like this forever."

"What nonsense!" cried d.i.c.k.

"I say! I want to be as small as the gnomes," he shouted.

There was no result, however, and the children remained as they were.

"Oh! I know," he cried; "I ought to have the paper that the Amba.s.sador gave me in my hand. Where is it?"

There was a great whispering amongst the gnomes, and at last one of them shouted out--

"We've taken it away."

"What for?" demanded d.i.c.k. "It was given to us; you had better give it up at once. What do you mean by it?"

There was another whispered consultation, and then one of the gnomes said, "Let them have it for now," and the paper was put down upon the ground at d.i.c.k's feet.

d.i.c.k stooped down and picked it up, and immediately the children began to dwindle down till they became as small as the little people themselves.

They had no sooner done so than the paper which the Amba.s.sador had given them was suddenly s.n.a.t.c.hed from d.i.c.k's hand and a number of the gnomes surrounded them, dancing about, turning somersaults, playing leap-frog, and capering about in the maddest way.

"Well, you've done it now," said one of them, tauntingly.

"What do you mean?" inquired d.i.c.k.

"Why, we've got the paper, and you can't grow any bigger until we allow you to."

"What a mean trick!" cried d.i.c.k, in disgust.

"Well, we don't think it at all fair," said the gnomes, "that you should be able to grow any size that you want to, while we have to keep little, so we are going to keep you here for a little while, and teach you to believe in fairies, do you see?"

"But we've got to find the Dodo in a week," expostulated d.i.c.k, "and if you keep us here, however are we to do that?"

"Oh, please give us the paper back," begged Marjorie. "I'm sure the Pater will be so vexed if we never grow any bigger than this any more."

And she began to cry a little.

You see, such a lot of very unusual things had happened that she was a little excited and nervous.

"Well, we'll think about it," said the gnomes, running away and hiding among the rocks.

"Don't cry, Marjorie," said d.i.c.k, bravely, though he too felt a little anxious himself; for, you see, eleven inches is not very tall for any one to be, and he didn't care to admit what would happen if he went back to school in his present state.

"Chappel Minor has always been cheeky," he thought, "and so have Martin and Foster, and if I keep this size they will think they can do just as they like with me, and probably will turn me out of the cricket eleven, while that little wretch of a Castleton is sure to sneak all my pencils--he does now when he gets a chance." However, he kept these doleful thoughts to himself, and devoted himself to the task of consoling his sister and Fidge, and had soon talked them into such a cheerful frame of mind, that they really began to think that it was rather an advantage than otherwise to have lost the paper.

"For one thing, we shall not have to hunt for that old Dodo,"

argued d.i.c.k, "because even the Grand Panjandrum himself, whoever he may be, could not expect us to go far away while we remain as little as this, and so we are not in such great danger of being--er--er--thingummybobbed--you know--what the Amba.s.sador said we should be, if we didn't find the wretched thing."

"Supposing we try and find the Amba.s.sador," suggested Marjorie. "I don't think he was really very cross, only a little abrupt, you know; and we could explain everything to him, and perhaps he would give us a new paper."

"All right," said d.i.c.k, leading the way. "At any rate, he will be able to make us grow bigger--that is, if we wish to," he added, with a fine affectation of unconcern.